I Need Your Help
by spaceman-earthgirl
Summary: Beckett asks Castle to pretend to be her boyfriend so she doesn't have to turn up at her friend's wedding alone.
1. Chapter 1

I know this idea has been done before but I wanted to give it a go myself. Set mid-late season three.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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"Castle, can I talk to you for a minute?" It had taken Beckett two days to build up the courage to just ask that and she couldn't back down now. It was the perfect time, they were sitting there doing nothing but paperwork and she had something to ask him about that was semi urgent so it was now or never.

"Sure," Castle smiled, surprised when she stood up but he stood himself and followed her into the break room, wondering what she had to say to him. She didn't close the door behind them so it can't be something too private but the fact that they were in here instead or out in the bullpen meant whatever she had to say was probably something she didn't want overheard.

He took the seat next to her at the break room table and was surprised when he looked down and saw her twisting her fingers together, she was nervous about something, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just wanted to ask you for a favour actually," Beckett replied looking over at him nervously but she was glad that none of the nerves she felt inside could be heard in her voice as she spoke.

"A favour? Ask away then, Detective," Castle grinned, letting how pleased he was that she was coming to him for help so on his face.

"Okay. Well, I have this friend, someone I've known since college and we've always been quite competitive with each other, always trying to beat the other in whatever we are doing."

Beckett paused in her explanation and Castle took his chance to jump in, worried about where this was going, where a mention of a friend of hers could lead, "you're not trying to set me up with her, are you? Because I'm really not looking to date anyway right now." It would hurt if that was what she was trying to ask him, he knew she was with Josh right now but he also thought they were growing closer and he hoped that if she ever broke up with Josh, that she'd be willing to give them a chance together.

"No, no, of course not," Beckett said quickly, not wanting him to think that at all, it was almost the exact opposite actually, "she's getting married anyway, which brings me to what I wanted to ask you."

"Which is?" Castle prompted when she'd paused again, wondering why it seemed to be so difficult for her to ask him whatever she'd wanted to.

"She called me the other day, asking if I was going to her wedding as I hadn't RSVP'ed yet and I told her I was. She made some comment about how she could place me at the single's table and I didn't want her to have the satisfaction of beating me at something else so I told her that I was bringing my boyfriend." She finished talking, looking expectantly at Castle, she hadn't exactly spelled out what she'd wanted but she thought he'd understand what she was trying to ask.

"Okay?" Castle asked, not entirely sure where he fit into this, "aren't you going to ask Josh?"

Beckett's eyes widened at his words, that hadn't been what she'd been expecting, "I…didn't you know? We broke up."

It was Castle's turn to look surprised, "no, I hadn't realised, I'm sorry." He really was sorry, he wanted her to be happy but if she was happy without Josh, then that was fine by him.

"Don't be, it was the best thing for both of us, I didn't want to hold him back from his work and…yeah, it just wasn't going to work out between us." She'd almost slipped up, admitted more than she'd meant to, almost telling him that he was a large part of the reason she'd called it quits on her relationship with Josh. She'd honestly thought he'd known though even if she hadn't specifically said anything about it. They'd been spending increasing amounts of time out of work together and she thought he'd realised that she was no longer with Josh.

Castle changed the subject back to their previous discussion, not wanting the dwell on her recent break up but glad for it since she seemed happy, "what was this favour you wanted to ask me?"

"Oh, right," she replied, almost forgetting what they'd come in here to do after their conversation got side tracked by her break up, "I was wondering if you'd come with me to the wedding?"

Castle was surprised yet again even though he probably shouldn't be, Beckett was constantly surprising him. But she wanted him to attend the wedding with her? And as friends or as more?

Castle had been staring at her open-mouthed so Beckett took it upon herself to try to explain exactly what she was asking, "you'd just need to pretend to be my boyfriend for the night, or we can just go as friends and I can tell Hannah that there was a misunderstanding, I just really don't want to go to this thing alone and I'd rather not have her know that I lied about having a boyfriend, I'd never hear the end of it."

"Slow down," Castle chuckled, shaking his head at her as she rushed through an explanation, secretly pleased that she'd thought of him as someone to go to her friend's wedding with, "I can pretend to be your boyfriend for the wedding, it's no big deal."

Except they both knew that it was a big deal. Pretending to be a couple would involve a lot more intimacy than if they were just attending a wedding as friends and Castle almost backed out of it right then, not sure he could handle one night with her if it meant that that's all they had together. But he didn't, because this could actually be a good thing, maybe she'd finally see how great they could be together and give them a chance.

"Are you sure? I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything." It probably would be uncomfortable but they could handle it, right? The most they'd probably have to do is hold hands and possibly dance together, they could do that. And there was putting up a front when Hannah was around but Beckett was sure that she would buy it, everyone already thought they were a couple so it shouldn't be too hard.

"No, it'll be great, we'll be so in love that Hannah is completely jealous of you us even though she's the one that's getting married."

 _Oh God, this is a bad idea_ , Beckett thought. She was already in love with him, this couldn't turn out well at all. But she wanted him to come to the wedding with her anyway, not just so she didn't have to turn up alone and have Hannah beat her, she wanted him there with her because she genuinely loved spending time with him and wanted her partner by her side.

"It's a week from Saturday, you free then?" She had to get her mind away from the L word and focus on the fact that it was just for one night and then things would go back to normal between them.

"I sure am. It's a date."

Never mind, she was screwed.

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	2. Chapter 2

I'm completely overwhelmed and thankful to the response that the first chapter to this fic got. I'm sincerely grateful to all those who took the time to read/review/favourite/follow this fic. I hope this next chapter lives up to expectations.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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It had been a week and a half since Beckett had asked Castle to accompany her to her friend's wedding and today was the day. They hadn't really talked about it since that day, the only things they planned were for Castle to pick her up before the wedding and that if anyone were to ask them about their relationship, Castle was to take the lead. Beckett knew that giving that job to Castle could be a bad idea but at the same time she trusted Castle and knew he wouldn't embarrass her too much.

Even though they hadn't been talking about it, they'd both spent plenty of time thinking about it and what it could mean for them and their relationship. They had to spend an evening together, pretending to be a couple, and who knew what after effects that could have on their working relationship and friendship.

Castle was standing outside her door, readying himself before he knocked. He needed to control himself tonight, not show too much of his feelings for her. While at the wedding, he could pretend that any feelings of his she saw were just him acting up the fact that they were supposed to be dating but while they were alone, he needed to hide his feelings for her as best he could out of fear of showing her with the intensity of them.

He'd almost stopped on the way over here and bought her flowers but he'd decided against it, realising that was much too close to making this a date when it was just two friends spending the evening together. Granted, those two friends were going to have to pretend they were dating but that was just while they were at the wedding, until then he just needed to be her partner and best friend and not let how much he does actually love her show.

Castle took a deep breath and knocked.

Whatever he'd been prepared for, he certainly wasn't ready enough for the door to swing open and to see Kate Beckett standing in front of him, looking absolutely gorgeous. She was beautiful, she always was, but he could almost pretend that tonight was actually a date with her standing in front of him in that stunning dress.

His eyes started at her hair, soft curls falling around her face, down to the thin straps of her dark blue dress that clung to her body which stopped just above the knee and then down to the black strapped high heels that brought her eye level with him.

"Hi," Kate breathed, a smile on her face as she saw the look of awe on Castle's face, one that was probably mirrored on her's as she checked out Castle in his white shirt and black suit, hair perfectly styled as always. He looked really good.

"You look amazing," Castle said and before he could regret it, regret letting some of his feelings show, he saw the light blush spread across Beckett's cheeks and knew he'd said the right thing.

Beckett surprised Castle with her next words, eyes meeting his as she spoke, "so do you."

Castle grinned, he couldn't help it and it was then that he realised she'd been checking him out just like he had.

"Are you ready to go?" Castle asked before he could do something stupid like lean forward and kiss her.

"Yeah," Beckett nodded, before she turned around, walking back towards the kitchen counter and to grab her purse and her jacket that was hanging over a chair, her heels echoing around the room as she did.

Castle stepped back, giving her room to close and look the door after her. This felt so much like a date that he struggled to keep his hands at his side as the walked down the hallway to the elevator, resisting the urge to place a hand at the small of her back to guide her or reach over and take her hand in his.

Being in the enclosed space of the elevator didn't help either but he forced himself to calm down. Resisting her wasn't usually this hard but with her in the dress, that small smile on her face, made it hard for him to remember that this was all just pretend. The fact that they were going to this wedding together, that he was her date, was breaking down some of the walls he'd constructed the keep his feelings in check and Castle hoped that that wouldn't back fire on them later.

Once in the back seat of the car that Castle had hired to save either of them having to drive, Castle was finally able to relax a bit, reminding himself that all he was doing was going to spend the evening with Beckett. He'd done that before, they'd spent time alone together and they could do it again and it didn't need to mean anything unless she wanted it too. They were just going to have a fun night together and Castle was going to be able to meet some of Beckett's old friends, maybe find out a bit more about the woman he loves.

Beckett's thoughts had been running away with her as well since Castle had first shown up at her door. He'd looked good, really good, and it was kind of distracting to be this close with thoughts like that running through her mind. And she was going to have to spend the whole night with him while he looked like that and she didn't know if she'd be able to resist him, especially knowing how charming he was probably going to be while they were at the wedding together.

Luckily, once they arrived at the wedding, anything she did could be called just acting. She didn't want to do anything to risk their friendship but she was starting to realise that maybe if they were to move forward in their relationship, they wouldn't be risking their friendship, only making it stronger. That didn't mean she wasn't nervous though, thinking about all the different ways tonight could go. They were just friends though, that's all she could manage right now, and she needed to keep that in mind.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Castle asked when they were nearing the church, picking up on some of the nervous energy coming from Beckett.

"I'm sure, are you?" She was, they could spend a night pretending to be dating and not have it necessarily mean anything, right?

"I'm sure," Castle smiled over at her, "it'll be fun."

Beckett smiled at him again, relaxing at the sight of his smile, the one she was so used to seeing now, one she couldn't imagine her life without.

"And if anybody asks, no elaborate stories about how we got together though, okay?"

"Fine," Castle grumbled, faking a pout but that didn't take long to turn back into a smile as he thought of something, "no embarrassing stories if you promise to dance with me at the reception."

"You are my boyfriend so I suppose I could spare one dance for you," Beckett answered, flashing a grin at him and trying not to dwell on the fact that she'd just said out loud that he was her boyfriend. She couldn't be thinking like that, couldn't be thinking beyond tonight and other things she could do with him if he was actually her boyfriend.

It wasn't long later that the car pulled up at the church and they both got out, making their way to the doors of the church.

"You ready?" Castle asked as they stood at the entrance of the church, both unnecessarily nervous about having to fake being a couple for the rest of the day.

Beckett nodded at his side and did something that surprised Castle, she reached out and took his hand, twining her fingers through his. Castle didn't even have time to properly realise what she'd done or think about anything other than her slim fingers between his before she was walking forwards, using their now joined hands to pull him through the door as they walked into the church together.

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Thoughts after this chapter?


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks again for the wonderful response this fic has gotten, I really appreciate the support. I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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As they entered the church, Beckett noticed a few of her old college friends and gave them a small wave and smile but didn't speak to anyone as they made their way down the aisle to take a seat. There would be time to talk to others at the reception but for now, Beckett just wanted to prepare herself for seeing her old friends and Hannah again with Castle as her boyfriend and to actually enjoy the wedding of one of her good friends.

Castle was disappointed when Beckett released his hand as they took their seats but then she flashed him a shy smile and the loss of warmth in his hand was forgotten as he concentrated on the press of Beckett's shoulder and thigh against his as they sat on the hard church seats.

Not long later, music started playing and everyone in the church turned to watch Hannah walk down the aisle, looking absolutely stunning in her white dress as she grinned and walked towards her future husband at the front of the church.

The wedding passed quickly after that and without incident for either of them, both watching the beautiful couple at the front of the church as they exchanged vows and rings and were proclaimed husband and wife.

The reception was at the hall next to the church so after the bride and groom had departed, people slowly started to stand and make their way to the reception hall.

"We're going to have to try hard if we're going to make them jealous," Castle said as they were making their way down the aisle, voice low in her ear, only for her.

"Hmmm?" Beckett hummed, looking confusedly at Castle as they left the church, thoughtlessly reaching over and taking his hand in hers once again.

"We were going to make Hannah jealous of our love, remember?" Castle asked, referring to the conversation they'd had when Beckett had first asked him to join her at the wedding and he laughed as her mouth dropped open in shock.

"I remember," Beckett replied, hoping her nerves didn't show, Castle's hand still clasped tightly in her own. It was true, she did want to make her friend jealous but that would be no small feat since her friend had just gotten married but it would be fun to pretend with Castle, see if they actually could make Hannah jealous of their relationship.

"Do you know many of these people?" Castle asked as they made their way further into the room, finding the table they'd been assigned to for dinner. There were many other tables scattered around the room, with one main table up the front of the hall for the main wedding party. Just in front of that table was a space which had been left clear from dancing and a band area sat off to the side, currently empty though as the hall was only just beginning to fill.

"A few, mostly just people from college, a few of them I was pretty close with at the time."

"You don't see them much any more?"

"Not really, not with how busy we are with work, the last time I saw them was at another friend of ours wedding." Castle had known that she didn't get much time out of work to socialise, and most of that free time is spent with the boys, Lanie and himself but he found it sad that she'd mostly lost contact with people she'd been close with in the past.

Beckett seemed to sense where Castle's mind had gone as she continued, "but it's fine, I see them when I can and if I saw them more often, I wouldn't have as much time to spend with you."

Beckett nudged his shoulder with hers as they stood side by side, taking in the decorated hall and all the guests, Castle flashing her his signature grin in response.

Castle was about to reply when someone called Beckett's name from behind them, causing them both to spin around to see who had spoken her name.

"Ben!" Beckett said, catching sight of the man who had spoken, a grin breaking across Beckett's face as she stepped forward to accept the hug he was offering.

"Kate, how are you?" Ben said as he took a step back, grinning at her in return.

"I'm good, you?"

"I'm good too, it's been a while since I've seen you."

"Yeah, I was just saying that I hadn't seen any of you since Hayley's wedding," Beckett replied, excited to see her friend who she hasn't seen in a few years but mentioning the conversation she had just been having with Castle made her realise she hadn't introduced them yet.

"Sorry, this is Ben, a friend from college," Beckett said, gesturing to the man in front of her before she turned to Castle, winding her arm around his back so she fit into his side before she continued, "and Ben, this is my boyfriend, Rick."

Castle slipped one of his arms around Beckett's shoulders, pulling her close against his side as he offered his free hand forward for Ben to shake, "it's nice to meet you."

Ben smiled warmly at Castle and Beckett was about to speak, find out more about how Ben had been since she'd last seen him but Castle spoke before she could, "so Ben, do you have any good stories of Beckett from when you were in college together?"

Ben laughed but then realised what Castle had just called her, wondering why they were on a last name basis, "Beckett?"

"Sorry, work habit," Castle said, wondering if they should refer to each other as Kate and Rick for the evening to avoid further confusion.

Ben still looked confused so Beckett clarified, "we work at the precinct together and you are under no circumstances to tell Castle anything about my past."

"You're no fun," Castle grumbled, causing Ben to laugh at the two of them.

"I'll catch up with you later," Ben said, seeing someone else he wanted to talk to over Beckett's, giving them a quick wave as he departed.

"He seems nice," Castle said, once he was out of earshot, trying to ignore the fact that they still had their arms around each other, hoping Beckett wouldn't notice either and pull herself away. It was nice, just standing together like this, it could make him believe that they really were dating and attending her friend's wedding together as opposed to two friends who were just pretending for the sake of Beckett's competitive streak with her old friend.

"Do you think we should be calling each other Kate and Rick while we're here, to avoid any confusion?" Beckett asked, mirroring Castle's thoughts from before, while she removed her arm from around his waist, disappointment flooding through him as she did. He wasn't disappointed for long though as she threaded her fingers through his, holding his hand once again, something that already felt so comfortable and normal between them now.

Beckett hadn't wanted to let him go, wanted to stay pressed up next to him forever, felt comfortable and safe in his embrace, but she couldn't keep doing that to him. It wasn't fair to give him hope when she wasn't ready to follow through on her actions and once the wedding was over, they'd have to go back to the way things were between them. She needed to step away from him because it was hard to remember the reasons why they weren't already dating when he was so close to her.

"I was thinking the same thing before," Castle laughed, amazed at how in sync their minds could be at times, thankfully distracting Beckett from her thoughts.

"Okay, it's settled then, I'm Kate and you're Rick," Beckett replied, his name falling softly from her mouth. She'd said her name just before and that had surprised him, not used to his first name being spoken by her, but it seemed suddenly really intimate as they stood close together, talking quietly, hands twined between them. He found he liked it, a lot, and he hoped she'd use his first name more often in the future.

Castle noticed that people had started to move towards the tables spread out around the room, taking their seats. He also noticed that a couple of the people she'd waved at earlier were starting to fill the seats around their table and Castle saw another opportunity, "come on, let's go take our seats so I can see if I can find out more about your college past."

Beckett quickly hid the smile that threatened to spread across her face and faked a groan instead to cover her amusement at Castle's attempts to find out more about her younger self. She let him tug her forward by their joined hands but it didn't take her long for her to realise that maybe that groan shouldn't have been fake after all as he was quite possibly leading her towards her doom. For one thing, there were some stories that she definitely didn't want Castle to hear that her friends may be eager to tell him and number two, she would have to continue pretending that Castle was really her boyfriend when she wished so desperately that she had to courage to make that come true.

Attending this wedding together probably hadn't been a good idea, not when she already felt so deeply for him but couldn't properly act on it. But who knows, maybe tonight was the thing that would give her the courage to do just that.

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Thoughts?


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you yet again to everyone reading this and to those who have reviewed/followed/favourited it, I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

No spoilers for season 8.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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They took their assigned seats at the table, Castle on her left and Hayley on her right. Glancing around the table, Beckett realised she knew everyone there. There were ten people at the table in total, five of them being friends from college. Sitting on Hayley's other side was her husband, Harry, then going anticlockwise there was George and Emily, who she just heard say both their partners couldn't make it to the wedding due to work. Further around there was Rob and his boyfriend Charlie, and then finally on Castle's left, was Ben and his wife.

It startled Beckett to realise that she was the only one of the group not currently dating anyone or married. Her friends of course didn't know that with Castle sitting by her side which she was grateful for but she couldn't help feeling slightly lonely at the thought. The thought of Castle made her glance to her left and the loneliness vanished as affection swelled in her chest as she watched Castle talk animatedly to the table, already entertaining the group with his stories.

She knew then that if it had been Josh sitting by her side, she wouldn't be feeling even half of what she did for the man who was currently at her side. Josh had been a safe choice, one she never had to invest herself too much in because she never saw a future with him. With Castle, it was the complete opposite, she could see a future with him, and that terrified her completely. That's why she's been so hesitant with him, not sure if she's ready to make that commitment and open up to him completely.

It was then that she tuned in to what Castle had actually been saying and that she realised he was talking about her, well them, and their work together. And he was currently telling the whole table how badass he thought she was.

"It did not happen like that," Beckett scoffed, interrupting Castle, causing everyone to laugh.

"Okay, maybe I embellished the story a bit but she was still awesome," Castle said to the rest of the group, grinning at Beckett as he did and no one could deny how proud his expression was when he looked over at her.

"Stop lying to my friends, Rick," Beckett answered, shaking her head at Castle, grinning nonetheless.

"Enough about us anyway, I need stories about a young Kate Beckett," everyone laughed at him again.

People dissolved into their own conversation after that, catching up with their friends around the table, Castle turning to talk to Ben while Hayley started talking to her.

"You guys work at the precinct together then?" Hayley asked, giving her a curious look, it was good to see her friend again.

"Yeah, he originally started shadowing me for his new book but he's my partner now," Beckett replied, amazed that it hadn't actually been that long since they'd started working together and already he was her best friend.

"He's Richard Castle," Hayley suddenly said, realising why she recognised her friends partner, "I thought he looked familiar." And then she lowered her voice, speaking quietly so only Beckett could hear, "he's very handsome in person."

"He is." Both girls giggled, causing castle to flash his eyes over to them even though he was still deep in conversation with Ben and she wondered what exactly they were talking about.

They spent the rest of the meal chatting easily with everyone, catching up on the past few years of everyone's lives. Castle told them more stories about their adventures in the city, making Beckett sound a lot more heroic than she deserved and she was quick to point out that he was just as heroic as she was.

Castle had been talking with Rob across the table after they'd all finished eating but suddenly, without any warning, he turned to her, completely invading her personal space, leaning in to whisper in her ear, lips almost brushing her ear as he spoke, "Are you okay?"

He'd noticed than on and off during their meal she'd been just sitting in silence, seemingly lost in thought and Castle wondered if everything was alright.

He pulled back after he'd spoken, looking in her eyes as he waited for her to answer, realising too late that that put their faces just a few inches apart and it took all his strength not to glance down at her lips.

Beckett's breath had caught when he'd leaned into her and now she was really struggling to breathe as he was so close to her and it would be so very easy to close the distance and press her lips to his.

She tried to think about what he'd asked, needed to form a response soon before she did just that and crossed a line in their friendship that would be hard to undo.

But then her eyes slipped down to his lips of their own accord and her heart started beating even faster as she thought about what it would be like to kiss him, the memory of their undercover kiss now fresh in her mind.

Her eyes flickered back up to his and she was well aware that they were staring at each other and she found she didn't care, maybe she was finally ready to take that step into a relationship with him.

Castle looked away before she could decide exactly what she was going to do, regret slicing through her hot and fast as she realised that she had wanted to kiss him and would've if he hadn't pulled away. And not just because she found him attractive but because she was in love with him and it wouldn't be easy, but with his help, she thinks that she could finally be ready to let him in so they could be more together.

Castle hadn't wanted to look away, not wanting to make her uncomfortable in front of her friends. He had wanted to kiss her, but he wanted her to be the one to take the first step, didn't want to take advantage of her under the guise of a fake relationship in case that's all she thought it was. The first time he kissed her, well the next time, he wanted her to have no doubt in her mind that he meant it.

"I'm fine," Beckett replied, voice stronger than she felt, finally answering his question even though her answer wasn't exactly true. She knew one thing for sure now, next time she got the opportunity to kiss him, she wasn't going to let it pass her by again.

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Thoughts after this chapter?


	5. Chapter 5

100 reviews, all of you are amazing and thank you yet again to everyone who is following this fic, I hope you like this next chapter.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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After dinner there were speeches from the bride, groom and family before the couple had their first dance as newlyweds. After that, the floor and bar were open to everyone and the party really began. Their table split up, going to talk to other people around the room or grab drinks for themselves and Castle and Beckett decided to go get a drink before seeing if they could find Hannah who was now in amongst the crowd of guests.

With drinks in hand, they stood talking near the dance floor as Hannah talked to another group of guests but she saw Beckett and excused herself from who she was talking to and she made her way towards them.

"Kate! Hi!" she said, arms wrapping around Beckett for a hug.

"Hey," Beckett grinned, returning the hug just as warmly, careful not to spill the drink in her hand, before she pulled away, "congratulations."

"Thank you," the new bride beamed, before she noticed Castle, "and who's this?"

"Hannah, this is my boyfriend, Rick. Rick, this is Hannah," Beckett said, gesturing between the two of them as she did.

A confused expression crossed Hannah's face, "Rick, I thought..." she paused, "nevermind."

Beckett realised exactly what Hannah was thinking, the last time they'd spoken properly, she'd still been dating Josh and she'd told Hannah about Castle, but had mostly complained about him. Of course she hadn't said she'd actually had feelings for him either, even back then when she would've denied it if anyone had asked. Beckett suddenly realised how awkward it could've been if Josh's name had been on the place card at the table instead of her name on both.

"We haven't been dating long," Beckett clarified, Castle now understanding what had caused Hannah's confusion.

"She just couldn't resist me," Castle added while grinning, wrapping his arm around Beckett's shoulder and pulling her into her side. They were meant to be making Hannah jealous and he was at least going to give it a go.

Beckett scoffed, "I think you'll find that that was the other way around, Babe." The term had just slipped out but the hastily concealed shock that Beckett could see out of the corner of her eye on Castle's face was worth it.

"Whatever you say, Honey." If she was going to use pet names then so was he.

"Wait, if you thought I was dating Josh, why did you say you'd put me at the singles table when we spoke?" Beckett asked, realising what her friend had said didn't add up and she was trying very hard to ignore the fact that Castle had called her Honey and how much she found she liked it.

Hannah at least looked sheepish when she spoke, "I was just teasing you, old habits die hard I guess."

Beckett laughed, shaking her head at her friend, "some things never change."

"Do you have any stories about a college-aged Beckett, I got some from Ben but you probably have some good one too," Castle asked Hannah, not sure if she'd give up information on her friend but it was worth a shot.

"What did he tell you?" Beckett asked quickly, turning in his embrace to look at him properly.

Castle shrugged in response, a smirk on his face and she wondered what he could possibly now know.

"Give me your number and we'll talk later," Hannah said, laughing at the panicked expression that was no on Beckett's face.

"No," Beckett said, turning from Castle to Hannah and back again, "that's not going to happen."

Hannah laughed, "relax Bex, I know you have information I never want to get out so your secrets are safe with me."

Castle groaned, "fine, Ben told me enough anyway and don't worry, those secrets are safe with me too."

"They better be," Beckett replied, her tone and the look she was giving him leaving no room for argument.

"You haven't told me how you two ended up together?" Hannah asked, breaking them out of their little bubble that always seemed to appear around them when they were talking to each other. Last Hannah had heard, her friend had been dating a doctor and Rick was an annoyance who followed her around all day.

Beckett froze, not sure what to say, they hadn't actually talked about this but luckily Castle took the lead like they'd talked about earlier, "it was after she'd broken up with Josh, I asked her out and she said yes."

"It was that simple?" Hannah asked, mirroring Beckett's own thoughts, would that be all it would take to get them to go out on a real date?

Castle shrugged, wondering how much truth he should put in his words. "Yeah. We'd been dancing around each other for a while, moving towards what I hoped was more and so one day I finally just asked her out and she said yes." Apparently he was going to tell her the complete truth, except for the last bit, that was something he'd only done in his head.

Whatever story Beckett thought Castle would concoct for them, that wasn't it and it hit a little close to home. But at least she knew for sure now, that this thing she felt between them wasn't one sided because even though his story may have been fake, she had no doubt his words were true and she's starting to think maybe she should've just asked him to come to this wedding as her date instead of her fake boyfriend. At least if she'd done that, she' d have a clear idea of the difference between fiction and reality right now.

"Well, I'm glad, you guys seem really happy," Hannah said, looking at the couple in front of her, snapping Beckett from her thoughts.

"We are," Castle smiled, turning absentmindedly to press a kiss to Beckett's temple. He was glad that he'd let those words slip, because at least she had some idea of his feelings for her now if she didn't already before. And if she didn't feel anything for him in return, he could play it off as he was just acting so they wouldn't blow their cover.

"I better go talk to some more people but it was good seeing you again, thanks for coming. And if I don't see you again before the end of the night, we need to catch up again soon," Hannah said, stepping forward to hug Beckett who stepped out of Castle's embrace to accept the hug. She gave a quick wave to Castle and then left, leaving Castle and Beckett standing beside each other, unsure exactly what to do next.

Instead of letting things get awkward between them though, which Castle knew was going to happen soon if he didn't do anything, he decided to act. He took the drink from Beckett's hand, placing it along with his on the nearest table.

"Come on, Detective, you promised me a dance," Castle said, taking her hand, not waiting for an answer as he led her onto the dance floor.

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Sorry to end it there! More to follow in the next couple days though. Thoughts after this chapter?


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks again for all the reviews/favourites/follows. I hope this chapter lives up to expectations.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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Beckett put up no fight as Castle led her onto the dance floor, having been excited about the prospect of getting to dance with him since she'd first asked him to the wedding. It was a way to be close to him while still maintaining that they are friends but Beckett knows she doesn't want to be just friends anymore and dancing with him could be the way to finally take that next step with him.

Beckett was surprised when she registered what music was playing, expecting Castle to have chosen a slow song for their dance together but this song was way too upbeat to slow dance as Beckett expected that they would. She found herself disappointed that they wouldn't yet get the slow dance she'd been hoping for.

The disappointment vanished once they started dancing, Castle causing her to laugh with the ridiculousness of some of the moves he was doing. She could tell he could dance, that he had rhythm, but you wouldn't know by looking at him now.

"You're ridiculous," Beckett laughed, voice just loud enough to be heard over the music as she danced in front of him, worried he was going to hit someone with the way his arms were swinging. Was he doing the sprinkler?

Castle grinned back at her in response, happy to make a fool of himself if she laughed and looked at him like she was now.

Castle reached out and took her hand and Beckett thought that this might be it, that he was going to just pull her to him and then he was going to kiss her. But she was surprised again, just like his dancing surprised her, when he spun her around instead.

The surprise at being spun as he righted her must have shown on her face because now Castle was laughing at her and it wasn't long before she was joining him again as they continued dancing.

Taking that final step into a relationship with Castle no longer seemed scary as she danced with him, probably both making fools of themselves, but she couldn't bring herself to care when they were having so much fun. This was Castle, her best friend, her partner, and starting a relationship with him now would only make those bonds stronger.

They'd danced their way through a few songs before a slow song started and Castle was disappointed, he'd been enjoying dancing with Beckett but knew it was over now that the music had changed. Castle gave Beckett a half smile and turned to leave the dance floor but Beckett caught his hand, stopping him from going any further and he looked down at her hand in confusion.

Beckett stepped closer to him, using the hand she was holding to keep him in place before she spoke, "that was your dance, now it's my turn to have my dance with you."

Castle's breath caught as she stepped closer, winding her arms around his neck as his fell to wrap around her waist so that they were almost completely pressed up against each other.

She smiled, that shy smile he loved so much, and all the disappointment he'd felt before at that change in music had vanished as her body moved against his and they swayed slowly back and forth.

They danced in silence for half a song, both just enjoying being this close to each other, their cheeks pressed together as they danced, before Beckett spoke.

"Are you going to tell me what that dancing before was about?" Beckett asked, smiling as she spoke which she was sure he could feel as they were so close.

"Hey!" Castle said, sounding affronted as he pulled back to give her a look, like she'd just offended him and his entire family. She laughed and he moved closer to her again, faces resting pressed together as he spoke again, voice low in her ear, telling her the real reason he'd been dancing ridiculously, "I liked seeing you laugh like that, I don't get to often."

Her smiled widened and she knew she was blushing but she didn't care, Castle had made an idiot of himself to make her laugh.

She wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that and she had to clear the clog of emotion from her throat before she could reply, "well, thanks, dancing with you was a lot of fun."

"I just hope no one videoed it," Castle laughed in her ear, "the boys would have a good laugh if they ever saw us dancing like that."

The wedding had been full of people that were separate from her work life and she didn't see them often so them thinking that she was dating Castle meant nothing but the mention of the boys made her realise that life was going on outside of the bubble of the wedding. But surprisingly, the panic that usually followed the thought of them really dating in the real world, surrounded by their friends and family, didn't follow.

"If you ever mention that you got me to dance with you like that to anyone, I'm sure Lanie will help me hide the body," Beckett replied but the threat was lost due to the soft way she spoke and the way she was swaying to the music with him.

"What about the stories that Ben told me, can I tell those?"

He actually feared for his life this time with the look she was now giving him, "I'm kidding!"

They danced again in silence for a bit, one slow song flowing into the next and Castle realised he may not have much time left to dance with her like this because as soon as a fast song began, it would be over.

Castle pulled back again to talk to her, but not far, and her hands were still around his neck so their faces ended up only a few inches apart, "thanks for inviting me today, I'm having a really good time."

The smile she gave him was brilliant, slightly shy, but beaming as she looked at him, "thanks for coming with me, I know I wouldn't be having nearly as good a time if you weren't here."

It was Castle's turn to grin at her, glad that it's not one sided and she's enjoying this just as much as he is. But then he realises they've been staring at each other for too long and he flashes back to not long ago when they were in the same position. If he were to kiss her now, would she realise that he was no longer pretending and would mean every press of his lips against hers?

He didn't have time to think about that though as Beckett took things into her own hands. This was the opportunity that she'd been waiting for, one she wasn't going to let pass her by again. Beckett leant in, eyes flicking down to his lips as she did then back up to his eyes, wanting to make sure that he was okay with what she was about to do.

Castle's eyes widened as he realised what she was doing as she glanced back down at his lips. There was no way that they were still just pretending and they both knew that as Castle leant down, their foreheads meeting. They stayed like that for a few seconds, just breathing in each other's space.

Then she finally closed the gap between them and kissed him.

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Thoughts?


	7. Chapter 7

Every single one of you is amazing and I'm glad you liked the previous chapter. I hope you enjoy this one too.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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Beckett hummed at the feel of Castle's lips pressed against her own as he kissed her back, pulling her closer as he did.

Beckett pulled back, but not far, just enough so she could see his reaction and she was relieved to find him grinning at her, even if he did looked slightly dazed.

"What was that for?" he asked, slightly breathless as her body was still pressed close to his, the world around them forgotten.

She was smiling at him but Castle's stomach dropped when she pulled further away, worried she was running or regretted their kiss. But then as her arms unwound from his neck, one of her hands trailed down his arm and she wound her fingers through his.

"Come with me," she said, and it was meant to be a command but it came out sounding more like a question so Castle nodded and followed the tug of her hands as she led him off the dance floor.

They walked hand in hand through the crowd until they were back near the table they'd had dinner where the music was much quieter and they could have some privacy for the conversation that was coming.

Beckett let go of his hand when they'd stopped walking and looked up at him shyly. She wasn't used to making the first move in her relationship with Castle so wasn't exactly sure what to do now.

"Are you okay?" Castle asked, worried that she now seemed hesitant.

"Yeah," Beckett nodded, smiling first before the smile turned into a full blown grin then she was blushing too.

"Good," Castle replied, grinning himself as his hand acted of its own accord, settling against her jaw as his thumb skimmed her red-tinged cheek.

If he'd ever gotten this close to her in the past he would've pulled away instantly, worried that he might push her too far but after she'd just kissed him, he was willing to push her a bit as she didn't seem to regret their kiss.

"Do we need to talk about that kiss?" he asked when she hadn't said anything more and his hand still rested on her cheek.

"Probably," Beckett responded, smiling shyly at him as she moved her own hand to rest over his.

"Are you okay with it?" Beckett asked when Castle had said nothing, seemingly distracted by her hand holding his in place on her cheek.

"Me? I'm fine with it, more than fine actually," Castle said, hurrying to reassure her, wondering now if she was actually worried about his reaction. Did she really not know how deep his feelings ran for her? If she didn't then he was just going to have to show her.

"I'm fine with it too," Beckett said, with more confidence now, the worry that she may have read his signals wrong gone as she continued, now a hint of amusement in her voice, "and I wouldn't complain if it were to happen again."

"You wouldn't?" he asked, a teasing grin on his face as he cupped her other cheek with his free hand and leant in to kiss her.

After Castle pulled away, Beckett couldn't help the happy laugh that escaped her lips, causing her to lean forward to rest her head on Castle's shoulder to hide her embarrassment. Castle could only grin in response as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to his chest.

Eventually Beckett pulled away from him after she realised they hadn't really talked but they needed to and Castle loosened his hold on her so she could step out of his arms and see his face.

"I shouldn't have asked you to come with me as my fake boyfriend," Beckett said and before Castle could even register her words or become worried by what she may be saying despite their previous conversation, Beckett continued, "I should've asked you to come with me as my date."

"Why didn't you?" Castle asked, curious what had changed between now and then that she was opening up to him more, finally ready to start the relationship that had felt inevitable for a long time.

"I was scared before, but being her with you tonight made me realise I didn't want to wait any more, that the reasons I'd had for waiting aren't as important as I thought they were," Beckett said. She was nervous, saying all this to him, opening up, but this was what she wanted and what she needed to do if they were going to get the chance together that she hoped they would.

"It was my dancing that convinced you to give me a chance, right?" Castle asked, stunned by what she'd just admitted. He'd seen her nerves and knew that he was nervous too but also knew that his humour would help them both relax during this potentially life changing discussion.

Beckett laughed, the sound bubbling out of her loud and happy, "No, I still like you in spite of your dancing though."

"Don't deny, you enjoyed it before," Castle replied, trying to keep her laughing as he continued to think about her words and he realised what she'd just said. "Wait, did you just admit that you like me?"

Like him? She didn't just like him, she loved him. "Okay, so maybe I did enjoy before but you still looked completely ridiculous."

"I'm glad, about you enjoying it, I mean," Castle replied, choosing to ignore the ridiculous comment, "but you didn't answer the second part of my question." He was being brave here, pushing her, and he hoped he wasn't going too far but the way she was looking at him, so open and happy, he found it difficult to believe that she didn't have feelings for him in return.

"I'll answer your question with one of my own," Beckett replied, pausing to take a deep breath and gather her courage before she continued, "will you have dinner with me next week?"

Castle's mouth actually dropped open in surprise, "you're asking me out on a date?"

Beckett just nodded, afraid if she spoke again, her nerves would be evident in her voice.

"Isn't that my job?" That wasn't the answer she was expecting and it wasn't the one he meant to say either.

"Why? Because you're the man? That means it's your job to ask me on a date?"

"What? No. Because I'm usually the one who has to push to get things moving forward in our partnership. I pushed my way into your life, followed you around when at the beginning you were less than thrilled for that to be the case. I forced myself into your life and I always thought when the time came, I'd be the one asking you out." All of that was true, he just wasn't exactly happy with the idea that he'd wormed his way into her life like that, like he'd forced himself into it and she hadn't been able to get him out.

"Hey," she said, reaching out her hand this time to rest on his cheek, soothing the skin under his eye, "I'm glad you kept pushing, it got us to where we are now. And if I really didn't want you in my life, I would've found a way to get rid of you a long time ago. I like having you around Castle, I'm sorry I didn't tell you that earlier and I hope to have you around for a lot longer." That was a lot for her to admit, more feelings than a kiss between friends would show and the implications of her wanting him around for a lot longer were not lost on either of them.

"I'd love to have dinner with you," Castle smiled, turning to press a kiss to the hand that was still resting on his cheek.

"It's a date then."

They both stood their smiling at each other, yet again lost in their own world, their surroundings long forgotten as they had eyes only for each other.

They heard a throat clear to Castle's left, reminding them that they aren't alone, and they both turned to see Rob standing beside them, Beckett dropping her hand from Castle's cheek.

"Sorry to interrupt but do you mind if I borrow you for a minute, Kate? Hannah is free for our group photo now if you are?" Every wedding they take a group college photo together since it's the only time that they are usually ever together it's just unfortunate timing right now as Beckett was rather enjoying her time with Castle this evening, especially with the recent turn of events.

"Of course," Beckett said, talking to Rob before she turned back to Castle, "give me a minute?"

He smiled at her and nodded, irrational fear jolting through him at the thought that she was going and wouldn't come back. She clearly wasn't going to leave him, not after the conversation they'd just had, but he was scared that this was all some sort of dream, one he'd wake up from if she vanished from his sight.

Either she somehow sensed his fear, had the same fear herself or had just wanted to kiss again because then she was spinning in her heels and she pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. He didn't have time to react as she'd already turned again and followed Rob but the time Castle had realised what had happened, leaving him to stare after her with a stupidly large grin on his face.

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Don't worry, it's not over yet. Thoughts?


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks again to all you lovely people who are taking the time to read this, I really appreciate it and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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Beckett returned from taking the photo not long later to find that Castle had decided to get them both drinks from the bar as they'd left their previous ones unfinished so they could dance instead.

"Thanks," Beckett smiled, accepting the drink he offered before taking a sip.

They stood in silence for a minute until Castle spoke, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Beckett replied, nervous all of a sudden by what he could have been thinking about while she'd been gone.

"You said before you should've asked me to be your date instead of fake boyfriend, would you still have kissed me if that were the case?"

Beckett thought about replying with a joke about how they were now talking about a hypothetical situation but then she paused and thought about it and decided to tell the truth, "no, as much as I would've wanted to, I probably wouldn't have."

"So what you said before, about not realising you were ready until tonight, wouldn't have happened?"

"I don't think so. It was all the acting being in a relationship that made me realise that I wanted it now and it didn't scare me anymore because I knew you'd be there for me like you have been all night. If you had been my date tonight, that wouldn't have happened like that so I think it would've taken more courage than I'd have had to finally kiss you tonight." Wow, she really was being honest with him and Beckett found she loved it.

Castle smiled, glad she felt comfortable enough to be this open and honest with him now.

It was Beckett's turn to ask a question of her own before Castle could reply to what she'd just shared with him, "would you have kissed me tonight if I had asked you to be my date instead?"

Castle paused to think about his answer before he responded, how the night could've gone if that had been the case flashing through his mind, "no."

"No?"

"I would've wanted to obviously, but I wouldn't have kissed you, at least not while we were at the wedding."

"What about after then?" She was curious, wondering if he would've made the first move tonight if she hadn't in this hypothetical situation. Of course, it didn't matter now since they'd already kissed but Beckett was interested in what would've happened. She knew that Castle wouldn't have made a move on her without first being sure it was what she wanted but if Beckett had been the one to ask her out, would Castle have finally kissed her?

"After the wedding, I would've taken you back to your apartment, made sure you made it home okay."

"Such a gentleman," Beckett interrupted, laughing at him when he managed to look both proud and upset at her words.

"Of course I would've been, had to make sure it was a good date if I wanted another one," Castle replied. If this had been a real date and not just a fake one (although it was feeling like a proper date now) he would've done everything he could've to make a good impression to ensure that they got a second date and hopefully many more after that.

Beckett smiled, "sorry for interrupting, what would happen next?"

"I would've walked you up to your door, holding your hand if you'd have let me." He was painting a picture in his own head and he was loving what he was seeing.

"I would've let you," Beckett smiled shyly, her turn to imagine a different version of events that could've occurred tonight as he walked her to her door. He'd probably have been a nervous wreck and that made Beckett's smile widen.

Castle smiled in return, amazed that they could talk about this so easily now when yesterday things would've been completely different between them, still hiding from what they both wanted. "At your door, if I'd been brave enough, I would've said goodnight before I placed a gentle kiss on your cheek and then I would've left, hoping I hadn't read everything wrong and you did want me to kiss you."

The image he'd created was almost too much for her and Beckett found herself hoping that that's how tonight will actually end, although with preferably more kissing. And since she could now, she closed the distance between them, kissing him more thoroughly than in the story he'd created.

"I really like kissing you," Castle said when they broke apart, the thought just slipping out without his consent as their foreheads now rested together.

"Good," Beckett grinned, pressing another quick kiss to his lips, "because I like kissing you too."

Their confessions left them both grinning as they finally stepped apart, remembering they were still in a public place.

"Do you think we should go socialise with your friends?" Castle asked. Not that he wanted to, he was very much enjoying being alone with Beckett but she came here to see her friends and he felt bad for keeping her from them.

"No," Beckett said, pouting, Castle not exactly sure why.

"Are you okay?" Had he said or done something wrong?

"I'm just enjoying being alone with you is all," Beckett replied, blushing furiously, glad she'd left her hair down so she could use it to hide her face.

Castle smiled, relieved there was nothing wrong and glad she felt the same was as him, "I'm enjoying spending time with just you too and we'll have plenty of time later to be alone but right now you should spend time with your friends while you have the chance."

Beckett was glad he felt the same way but then she gave him a look and Castle thought back over his words before he realised what he'd said and smirked, "I meant we'd have time to spend alone together because we work together and see each other every day but I'm not opposed to doing what you're currently thinking about either."

Beckett was blushing again, caught as her thoughts had gotten away from her but she was happy at the prospect of spending time alone, proper time alone, in the future together.

"Come on," Castle said, smiling as he reached down to take her hand and she let him. It was different now, before was just pretend and they both knew that and were just playing along but it was good to know that now they were no longer pretending and they were both on the same page with their relationship. "Let's go talk to your friends, I don't want to be responsible for keeping you away from them all night."

"Do we really have to?" Beckett grumbled and Castle grinned at her as they now stood together holding hands, neither actually too keen to leave their little bubble of privacy, especially after being interrupted by Rob earlier.

"Yes, but I promise to stay with you the whole time, okay?" He didn't plan on leaving her side any time soon, as long as she let him stay with her, he planned on being with her forever.

"Promise?" Beckett asked, looking over at him with hope, wondering if she was reading more into his words than she should've been. But with the way he was currently looking at her, she was sure he wasn't just talking about staying with her tonight but in the future as well.

Castle couldn't help but think about how he was getting to see an entirely different side of Beckett and he loved it, amazed at how open she was being with him.

"I promise," he smiled, squeezing her hand to show meant it, he wasn't going to let her go for anything.

She smiled in return, letting him lead her over to where most of her friends were still talking after their photo.

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Thoughts?


	9. Chapter 9

200 reviews?! Thank you all so much, you are all amazing. Sorry for the delay with this chapter, I've been busy but I hope you enjoy it.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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"We thought you two were going to spend all night alone," Emily joked as Beckett and Castle arrived at the group.

Beckett blushed, realising that her friends had seen how close they'd been all night. Not that it would be strange to them, for her to be close to someone she claimed to be her boyfriend, but she was still embarrassed at being caught.

Castle laughed, putting on the charm she'd seen him use many times, "sorry, that was my fault," Castle said before he gave some excuse about how busy they are at work and how they don't have much time to spend alone together which was true to an extent, they are busy and they don't spend nearly as much time together outside of work as he wishes, but maybe that was going to change now.

They spent the rest of the evening talking with her friends, Castle never leaving her side, Rob offering to get everyone more drinks which meant Castle didn't have to leave her to do that either.

Beckett was busy talking to George when Emily stepped up beside Castle to speak to him, holding her phone out to him for him to see the screen, "you guys are really cute together."

Castle's mouth dropped open slightly as he saw the picture Emily had been talking about "when did you take that?"

"We were looking for you and Rob spotted you over by the tables and I thought you too looked really sweet together and I thought Kate might want a picture." She'd originally taken the picture so she could tease Beckett about it later, would've said something about her going soft, but when she'd looked at the picture it was too cute to do anything other than show them and since Kate was currently talking, she'd showed Rick first.

Castle nodded, smiling at Beckett's friend, wondering if maybe the wedding photographer had taken any pictures of them too before he spoke, "can you send me it too?"

"Sure," Emily smiled, already getting ready to email the picture to Castle when Beckett spoke, having heard the end part of the conversation at least.

"Send him what?" Beckett really hoped it wasn't anything embarrassing from her college days.

Castle had typed in his email address, and Beckett's as well, and hit said on Emily's phone before he turned back to her and asked as he gestured to the phone and then to Beckett, "may I?"

"Go ahead," Emily smiled, having fully intended so show her friend anyway.

"Wow," Beckett breathed out as she saw the photo that was in front of her. The first thing she noticed was how happy she looked, how happy they both looked, as they stood their talking to each other. And that's all the picture was, her and Castle, talking to each other but somehow the picture managed to convey just how happy they were in that moment as they stood in front of each other, smiles on both their faces. It wasn't just one aspect that told of how clearly they had feelings for each other, but the whole photo came together to show just how in love they were and maybe they hadn't said it to each other yet but it could be clearly seen by anyone who looked at this picture that they were in love.

"That's going in my office," Castle said, breaking Beckett out of her thoughts as he stood staring at the photo again, lost in how beautiful they looked together. Those five words though, suddenly had his mind spiraling out of control as he started to think of simply placing that photo in his office and how that seemed to change everything. They were no longer just friends, they were a couple and that changed things completely.

Castle couldn't help but think about what that could mean for their future. Right now, it was him putting a picture of them together in his office, one that clearly showed they were in a relationship. But where was that relationship going to lead? He hoped it was going to lead to a long and happy life together, one where he would spend every day showing Beckett just how much she means to him.

"Rick sent it to you too," Emily said, snapping them both out of their thoughts and Castle was glad for the distraction because he knew that they needed to have a conversation about their future and what Beckett saw for them before he let his imagination get away with itself.

"Thanks," Beckett said, smiling at both Castle and Emily as she put her phone away, glad that they had that image from tonight to show how much things had really changed between them.

After that little conversation, they spent the rest of the evening in the company of her friends and Beckett was glad that Castle had made her socialise with them because she would've regretted it if she hadn't, it had been really great to catch up with her friends again.

They said their goodbyes later that evening as everyone else started to leave the reception hall around 1am, the bride and groom having left a couple hours earlier. They made promises to catch up soon and Beckett blushed when Hayley had joked that they would probably see each other soon anyway if Castle would propose soon. Of course Castle had promised not to leave her side so he'd been right there as Hayley had spoken and she was glad neither of them had had time to reply as they were interrupted by Rob and Charlie saying goodbye. There'd be time for all the talk about what they were now and the future later but that definitely wasn't a talk she wanted to have with her friends around.

They left the hall hand in hand, now finally alone after the night of being surrounded by people when so much had changed between them and they both so desperately wanted to be alone together to reassure themselves that tonight really did happen.

Beckett was nervous as they sat next to each other in the back seat of the car on the way back to her apartment. What was going to happen next? They'd talked, she'd asked him out on a date and he'd said yes and they clearly had feelings for each other but she still didn't know what was going to happen when they got back to her apartment. Was he going to say goodnight liked he'd talked about before, was he going to kiss like he had earlier before leaving for the night? Was he going to invite himself in or was she going to invite him in? And what about after that, would something more happen? Was she ready for that?

With all those thoughts swirling through her mind, Beckett had failed to realise that they'd stopped outside her building and Castle was giving her a confused look.

"Sorry," she said, shaking her head before she climbed out of the car, Castle close behind her.

Beckett smiled over at him as he stood beside her on the sidewalk and she realised what he was doing, he was walking her to her door and so she reached out and took his hand in hers so they could walk to the door together.

They spent the elevator ride up to her apartment in more silence, both thinking about what could possibly happen next. Neither of them said anything as they approached her door and then suddenly they were there and Beckett didn't know what to do.

"Thanks again for tonight, I really enjoyed it," Castle said, smiling at Beckett as they stood in front of her door and he wondered what was going through her mind.

"I should be thanking you, I had a really good time too," Beckett replied, smiling shyly at him as he stood in front of her.

Castle smiled one last smile before he said goodnight and then he leant in and Beckett's heart started pounding as he drew closer to her. But at the last second he turned his head, his lips pressing to her cheek instead of her waiting lips. He lingered there for a moment before he pulled away and before Beckett could do anything he was turning and leaving.

"Oh no, you don't," Beckett said, grabbing Castle's arm after he'd taken just a couple steps so he couldn't go any further.

"What?" Castle asked, trying to keep his expression innocent as he looked back at her with fake confusion.

"After all that's happened tonight, all I get is a kiss on the cheek?" Beckett asked, done pretending she didn't want him anymore. She'd been going after what she'd wanted all night and that wasn't going to stop now as she realised that she didn't want this night to end just yet. Even if nothing happened and they just talked, she wasn't ready to say goodbye just yet.

"I was just trying to be a gentleman," Castle replied, his look of innocence slipping so he was left grinning at her as he spoke.

Beckett grinned back at him, pulling him closer to her using the arm she still held so she could wind her arms around his neck like earlier as his hands settled at her waist, "I know."

This time as he leant in to kiss her, he didn't miss as he pressed his lips against hers. And when she invited him into her apartment after they'd parted and he accepted, they both knew that he wouldn't be leaving again until the next morning.

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Only one more chapter to go and I'll get it finished as soon as I find the time. Thoughts?


	10. Chapter 10

A huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favourited/followed this fic, I really appreciate the support and you all motivate me to keep writing with your kind words. Here is the final chapter, I hope you like it.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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It had been three weeks since Hannah's wedding and Beckett was sitting at her desk when she received a phone call.

"Beckett," she paused while she listened to the person on the other end of the phone, "yeah, that's fine, send her up."

Beckett was smiling as she hung up the phone, surprised to have learned that Hannah was downstairs and that the security guard was confirming that she knew who she was.

Every time the elevator sounded for the next few minutes, Beckett would look up expectantly, hoping it would be her friend and she'd be disappointed every time it wasn't. But then Hannah stepped off the elevator the next time she looked up, looking around hesitantly until she spotted Beckett walking towards her and a smile spread across her face.

"Hi," said Hannah, arms open to give her friend a hug as the met near the elevators.

"Hey, what're you doing here?" asked Beckett after they'd hugged and were walking back to her desk.

"I was in the neighbourhood and I thought I should stop by," Hannah replied, looking around the bullpen, taking in the surroundings that her friend worked in everyday.

"I'm glad you did, we need to properly catch up since we didn't really get a chance to at the wedding."

Before Hannah had a chance to reply, Castle had appeared behind them, two coffees in his hand, "Hannah? Hi, what are you doing here?"

Beckett looked down and saw the coffees in Castle's hand while Hannah was explaining to him what she was doing here and it gave her an idea but before Becket could voice said idea, Ryan and Esposito were appearing behind them as well.

They boys had seen someone who seemed to be friends with Beckett appear a few minutes ago and then Castle had arrived and had seemed to know the woman too so now they were both interested in the small gathering around Beckett's desk.

"Hi, I'm Javier," Esposito said, holding out his hand for Hannah to shake.

"Kevin," Ryan said, shaking hands with Hannah too who smiled warmly at them both.

"Guys, this is Hannah, a friend of mine from college," Beckett said, gesturing to Hannah as she spoke before then gesturing to the boys, "and Hannah, this is Detective Javier Esposito and Detective Kevin Ryan."

"Nice to meet you both, Kate has told me a lot about both of you."

Both detective's grinned at Beckett having heard that Beckett talks about them to her friends and she just rolled her eyes in return.

"So, if you know Beckett from college, how do you know Castle?" Esposito asked, wasting no time in getting to the point of why they'd come over to introduce themselves. Before either Castle or Beckett could jump in and answer the question, Hannah was speaking, "I met him a few weeks ago at my wedding."

Both Esposito and Ryan looked surprised, turning to Beckett before Ryan spoke, "you took Castle to your friend's wedding?"

She couldn't exactly deny that now, but she needed a way to get her friend to stop talking, they could explain that their relationship was a secret later, as well as having a suitable answer for Ryan and Espo, "I didn't want to go alone." Okay, that probably didn't do either of those things.

"You could've taken one of us?" Esposito asked, although the boys knew that she would pick Castle over them for something like that. They may have known Beckett longer but there was definitely something different about her relationship between Castle than between them. They were just her good friends and colleagues and they knew Castle was so much more, whether they'd admitted it to each other yet or not.

Beckett shrugged, deciding to play it off as no big deal in front of the boys, "I wanted to take Castle and I asked him first and he said yes."

Hannah was now looking between all of them, confused.

"You went on a date with Castle and didn't tell us?" Espo smirked as he spoke while Ryan smiled brightly beside him.

"It wasn't a date," Beckett said quickly, hoping that Hannah realised that they were keeping their relationship a secret and wouldn't say anything that would give them away.

Beckett breathed a sigh of relief when Hannah spoke up and it backed up their story, "the first thing I asked was if they were dating and Kate told me they were just friends although I have to say that you two did look cute together, I have some photos from the photographer, I'll have to show you them some time."

Beckett blushed, at both Hannah's words about them being cute together and wondering what sort of photos the photographer had taken of them.

"They're always cute together," Ryan replied, smiling even while Beckett glared at him.

"So, can you tell us any good stories from Beckett's past?" Esposito asked, turning to Hannah as he did. There weren't many opportunities to find out about Beckett's past and he wasn't going to let it pass him by.

"That's not going to happen," Beckett said, now glaring at Espo before she turned to Hannah, "how about we go get some coffee and we can catch up?"

"Castle just made you coffee," Esposito cut in, pointing to the two cups that Castle just had placed on her desk but both had so far remained untouched.

"You can have my cup," Beckett said, smirking when he pulled a face, he wasn't a particular fan of the vanilla Castle always added to her drink.

"What about me?" Ryan protested, Castle made really good coffee and even if it wasn't how he usually had it, it would still be good.

"You can have Castle's."

"What about me?" Castle asked, pouting over the fact that Beckett was giving away the coffee he'd just made.

"You're coming with us," Beckett replied, looking at him like it was obvious.

"Why him and not us?" Esposito asked, now looking between them.

"He'll only be a distraction if I leave him alone unsupervised," Beckett answered and it wasn't a very good reason but it'd have to do, they planned to tell the boys about them soon anyway.

"Hey!" Castle objected, "I'm never a distraction."

Beckett just smirked at him in response before she turned back to the boys ,"we'll be back soon, call if you need anything."

As they walked away, both Ryan and Esposito quickly tried to grab Castle's cup and unfortunately for Esposito, Ryan was successful as he'd been standing the closest.

 **XXX**

Beckett's phone chimed with a text as all three of them stood in the elevator and she pulled it out of her pocket, hoping it wasn't anything urgent and she'd have to cut her time with her friend short. It wasn't work related though, it was from Esposito.

 **By the way, we both know you're dating, we saw you making out the other morning before work.**

"Oh my God," Beckett groaned, showing the text message to Castle who couldn't help but laugh, guess they didn't need to tell them anymore since they obviously already knew.

"Are we going to talk about what just happened?" Hannah asked as they stepped off the elevator, looking back and forth between the two of them.

Beckett laughed, "we'll explain when we get to the cafe, okay? For now you can tell us all about what married life is like."

As they exited the precinct and walked the few short blocks to the cafe Beckett had been thinking of going, Hannah told them all about their honeymoon and what married life was like. It wasn't actually that different really, they'd already been living together and the only difference now is that they had the stress of the wedding behind them and they could just enjoy their life together.

It wasn't until all three of them were seated with coffee in front to them that Hannah finally went back to the topic that had been put on hold at the precinct, "are you going to explain what's going on between you?"

Beckett decided to have some fun first before explain that their relationship is just a secret so she looked at Castle before she spoke, giving him a fake sheepish look before she turned back to her friend, "we have a confession to make."

Hannah furrowed her eyebrows, Beckett's words only making her confused, "what do you mean?"

"Rick and I were only pretending to be dating at your wedding."

"You're joking?" Hannah asked, her mouth falling open with surprise as she looked back and forth between Beckett and Castle.

Beckett shook her head, "no, when you called asking if I was going to the wedding, I made up a boyfriend and then I asked Rick to pretend to be my boyfriend so I didn't have to turn up to the wedding alone."

She'd originally not wanted Hannah to know that she'd lied about having a boyfriend because she was sure her friend would tease her endlessly but now that she was in a happy and stable relationship, one she saw lasting, she didn't mind anymore if her friend knew. Plus, it was going to be kind of fun to mess with her before they finally told Hannah that they were actually dating.

"You're making that up, there's no way the two of you aren't dating," Hannah replied and both Castle and Beckett were happy that they seemed so right for each other that someone who had seen them together once could say that she had no problem believing that they were dating.

"Honestly, all that couple stuff from that night, we were just trying to make you jealous of us," Castle replied, attempting to sell their story too.

"Jealous?"

Beckett looked like she was going to protest to what Castle was about to say but when she didn't speak up, Castle continued, "yeah, Beckett told me you two were quite competitive so we thought it would be fun to try to make you jealous of our relationship."

"Even though I was the one that was getting married?" Were they being serious? She'd thought that they were just hiding their relationship which is why they were acting the way they were in front of her colleagues but were they really just friends?

Castle just shrugged in response.

"You two are being serious, you aren't dating?"

"We never said that," Beckett replied, smirking when her friend looked even more confused.

"But you just said he was pretending to be your boyfriend at my wedding?" What was going on?

"At your wedding we were pretending-"

"Sort of," Castle cut it, they'd talked about what had happened at the wedding the morning after it when they found out just how much they cared about each other, and they'd both admitted that while they had said the evening was fake, neither of them had been acting at all.

"Sort of. We technically weren't dating when we arrived but by the end we were together."

Hannah's mouth fell open in shock, "you mean my wedding was your first date?" Were they really not joking around here? They seemed to have been together for much longer than that.

Beckett reached out, placing her hand over Castle's on the table and smiling at him as she spoke, "turns out we'd just needed a little push to get us to admit that we had feelings for each other."

"I can't believe this," said Hannah, looking between the two of them as they smiled at each other. If they hadn't just told her, she wouldn't have believed that they'd only just started dating and they hadn't already been together at her wedding. They seemed good together though and Hannah was happy for her friend, "is it your wedding we'll be going to next?"

Beckett blushed and gave her friend a look which Hannah just responded to by laughing.

They had spoken about that sort of thing though and marriage is something they both want in the future. It's only been three weeks but their relationship has changed so much and so quickly since the wedding but neither of them think they should rush into something like marriage so quickly. They both know though that the other is it for them and right now they're content to just be together and explore this new thing between them before they move even further with their relationship.

"Maybe, who knows," Castle replied, still smiling at Beckett, that soft smile that Beckett loves so much, one that shows how much he really loves her. They'd spoken about that too, love. Castle had said the words first, just a week after the wedding. He'd been holding it back, almost saying it several times before he finally got up the courage to tell her how he really felt over dinner at his place. It turned out she'd wanted to say it too and was holding back, not wanting to push too fast in their relationship. After that, they'd spoken much more openly about how they felt and what they wanted for the future.

"Have you two seriously only been together for a week!" Hannah said, shaking her head at how obviously in love the two of them were.

"It was a long time coming," Beckett replied, squeezing Castle's hand as it still rested on his on the table.

"Are we going to talk about the fact that you brought your fake boyfriend to my wedding?" Hannah asked, laughing along with Castle as Beckett blushed again.

"We are not. And you're not going to tell any of our friends that either, right?"

Hannah laughed again, "your secret is safe with me."

They finished their coffees over more conversation but then it was time for Beckett and Caste to head back to the precinct. They parted ways outside the coffee shop with promises of catching up again soon and Castle knew how busy Beckett could get with work so he was going to make sure that she did take the time off in the future to catch up with her friends again.

"Are you okay with the fact that the boys know about us?" Castle asked as they walked hand in hand back to the precinct. He'd been thinking about it ever since they'd left the precinct, wondering if she was okay with them knowing, that it wasn't too soon for people to know about them.

Beckett shrugged, squeezing his hand, "I would've liked to tell them ourselves and it's embarrassing that they found out the way they did but they were going to find out eventually, we can't live the rest of our lives as a secret couple."

The rest of their lives, Castle liked the sound of that.

"So, about what Hannah said before, do you think our wedding could be the next one?" Castle asked, smiling over at her as they walked back to the precinct, stopping her with their joint hands so they could have private moment before they drew too close to the precinct. Castle tugged her closer to him with their still entwined hands and quickly pressed his lips to hers before he pulled back and waited for her answer.

"Depends on how long it takes for you to ask." Beckett replied, laughing at the stunned look on Castle's face before he was laughing along with her.

They continued walking and had to separate as the precinct came into view, not yet wanting all their colleagues to know they were dating. They walked silently, both thinking about the events of the day, specifically their most recent conversation. They both knew that despite their words, they would still take things slow between them, not wanting to screw things up by moving too quickly before they were truly ready. For now, they would just continue to move at their own pace, enjoying the new eve to relationship before they decided to move forward together.

But they'd get their eventually and one day it would be their wedding that all her friends were attending and she wouldn't need any more fake dates because she'd already have her husband by her side.

* * *

And that's the end! Thanks again to everyone for reading, I look forward to hearing your thoughts.


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